The Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is a well known security protocol developed by Netscape® for transmitting private documents securely over the Internet. The SSL protocol works by using a private key to encrypt data that's transferred over an SSL connection. Many web sites use the SSL protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as a credit card number. The use of this protocol may not be desirable for all uses, however, because the use of SSL can require the purchase of a certificate.
A device that can authenticate users over the Internet is the Web/SNMP management card that has part number AP9606 and is manufactured by the American Power Conversion, Corp. of West Kingston, R.I. When the AP9606 card is first installed, the user programs it with an authentication phrase. This authentication phrase becomes a shared secret between the AP9606 card and the user. The AP9696 card provides security by transmitting an applet from the AP9606 card to a web browser, and the applet uses the shared secret to authenticate the user. Additionally, the AP9606 card also secures form data using this applet by hashing form fields with the shared secret. The AP9606 card can also provide management of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS's) via multiple open standards like Telnet, HTTP, and SNMP. Through the AP9606 card, a user can monitor and configure UPS's to complete tasks, such as shutting down and rebooting a user's computer system, receiving email alerts and providing an event log. However, due to the frequent necessity of conducting secure communications over the Internet and other networks, a system having even more secure access to web pages is desired.